Sir Clement Athelston Arrindell (19 April 1931 – 27 March 2011) was the first

governor-general of Saint Kitts and Nevis The governor-general of Saint Kitts and Nevis is the representative of the monarch of Saint Kitts and Nevis, currently King Charles III. The appointed Governor-General, currently Sir Tapley Seaton, lives in Government House, Basseterre, which s ...

, serving from 1983 to 1995, and also served as the country's final colonial governor, from 1981 to 1983. Arrindell was born in

Basseterre Basseterre (; Saint Kitts Creole: ''Basterre'') is the capital and largest city of Saint Kitts and Nevis with an estimated population of 14,000 in 2018. Geographically, the Basseterre port is located at , on the south western coast of Saint Kitt ...

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

, and educated at the St. Kitts–Nevis Grammar School, where he was top of his class in his final year. He left to study in England in 1954, and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in June 1958, as a member of

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

. Arrindell returned to Saint Kitts in December 1958. He initially worked in private practice, but was eventually made a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

. From 1972 to 1978, he served as a senior magistrate, both in

Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla (or Saint Christopher, Nevis, and Anguilla) was a British colony in the West Indies from 1882 to 1983, consisting of the islands of Anguilla (until 1980), Nevis, and Saint Christopher (or Saint Kitts). From 1882 ...

(as the colony was then known) and in the

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

. In July 1978, Arrindell was made a judge of the West Indies Associated States Supreme Court (now known as the

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is a superior court, superior court of record for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), including six independent states: Antigua and Barbuda, t ...

). He served in the position until November 1981, when he succeeded Sir

Probyn Inniss Sir Probyn Ellsworth Inniss MBE (18 November 1936 – 12 March 2017) was the Governor of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla from 1975 to 1980, and then, following the separation of Anguilla, the Governor of Saint Christopher and Nevis from 1980 to ...

as Governor of Saint Kitts and Nevis (an

Associated State An associated state is the minor partner in a formal, free relationship between a political territory (some dependent, most fully sovereign states) and a major party—usually a larger nation. The details of such free association are contain ...

of the United Kingdom at the time). On independence in September 1983, he was appointed governor-general, and remained in the position until his retirement in December 1995. Arrindell was created a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

in June 1982, and was also later made a

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(GCMG) in February 1984 and a

Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(GCVO) in October 1985. He died in March 2011, after a short illness, and was awarded a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

.(5 April 2011)
"State Funeral for Sir Clement"
– ''Kittivisian Life''. Retrieved 24 April 2016.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrindell, Clement 1931 births 2011 deaths Governors-General of Saint Kitts and Nevis Knights Bachelor Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Members of Lincoln's Inn People from Basseterre Saint Kitts and Nevis expatriates in the United Kingdom Saint Kitts and Nevis judges 20th-century Saint Kitts and Nevis lawyers Governors of British Saint Christopher and Nevis